Helping Hand
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Rogers knows that is daughter is academically gifted, but his financial situation doesn't make it easy to help her. Luckily for him, Tilly's math teacher has a solution.


**captregina prompted: Hooked Queen, knight rook Number 4 (teacher/single parent au)**

**S7 AU. W!Hook and Regina became an established couple after meeting. W!Hook and Ella shared the white elephant, so they both got their children under the curse. A look into how Rogers and Roni got together under it, because true love means finding that person always.**

James Rogers shifted from one foot to the other as he sat outside the classroom. He hadn't been this nervous in a school since he was there himself. Heck, he hadn't even finished high school himself. Part of it was because Tilly came along, the other part was that most of it was just busy work. He knew all the stuff, he just didn't want to sit through the classes and apply it. Instead, he had gotten his GED and gone to college later on. Now, Rogers was afraid that he was passing that down to his daughter. She was a very bright girl and when she applied herself, she got amazing grades. When she got bored, however, she'd slip and leave him wondering if he could really blame her.

Most teachers thought she was lazy and refused to help Rogers come up with a plan. Something was different about Ms. Raina, though. She had actually happily responded to his e-mail about Tilly's grades and agreed to meet with him that afternoon. Asking Sabine to watch Tilly for him (despite the 11-year-old's protests that she didn't need a sitter), he went to the school at the end of his shift. It was nearly 6 and the sun had fallen in the sky, there was no one else around outside the janitors cleaning up.

The door opened and Ms. Raina stepped out, a smile on her face. "Mr. Rogers?"

Rogers got to his feet. "You can call me James."

"Very well." She extended her hand. "I'm Veronica Raina, but you may call me Roni. I'm Tilly's math teacher."

Rogers shook her hand before following her into the classroom. "I'm sorry about meeting so late, I tried to get someone to cover the end of my shift, but I'm a cop and well…"

"Don't worry about it," Roni said, waving him off. She settled behind her desk and gestured to a chair in front of it. "I had some meetings with other parents anyway. Take a seat."

He slid into his chair. "I know that Tilly hasn't been getting the best marks and I'm working with her…"

"That's not the problem, James. I'm aware that Tilly is highly intelligent, she's almost at a gifted level. So, today while I had the other kids do a worksheet, I gave her this assignment." She placed a sheet of paper down. "It's high school level, normally something we'd give to our gifted 8th grade students. She actually sat down, focused and still managed to get it all right."

James scanned the paper, letting out a tiny gasp. "Wow."

"I think the issue is that Tilly is just bored. After she completed this, she told me that she wished that she could do this every day. And I wish I could, but I can't teach two separate lessons."

"I understand."

"Which is why I've been thinking of alternatives." Reaching into her desk, Roni pulled out a pamphlet, handing it over to James. "This is for Hyperion Academy. It's a great place for academically gifted students. It challenges them and gives them something to strive towards."

Rogers flipped through the pamphlet, it did certainly seem like it was a dream match for Tilly. A sinking feeling filled his stomach. He might have been promoted to detective, but they still weren't flushed with cash. He was paying off his student loans, along with dealing with the mortgage payments on their new house.

"I'd love to send Tilly here, I just can't afford it," James admitted, sheepishly.

"They have a few different scholarship programs."

"I'm afraid that I'd probably make too much to qualify. I've been down this road before."

"There is a different one, rather than need based." Roni pointed to the back of the pamphlet. "If the prospective student goes through testing and gets a letter of recommendation, they qualify for a scholarship. I'd be more than happy to write one for Tilly."

James' frown slowly turned into a smile. "Really?"

"Tilly is a special girl. I want her to excel."

"Thank you, Roni. Thank you so much."

Tilly took the tests and Roni submitted her letter of recommendation. Rogers was surprised to find that his daughter actually started focusing in school after that. She was trying to not get her hopes up about the school, but after a tour, Rogers could see how much she wanted to go.

"There are other kids that think like me, Papa!" She told him, excitedly. "Maybe I'll finally make friends!"

Three weeks after the application was sent in, Rogers received a thick package in the mail. He waited until after Tilly went to bed to open it, in case it wasn't going to work out. He opened it and found that his daughter was accepted after all…and would be receiving a full ride as well. He let out a sigh of relief and found himself dialing a number on his phone.

Roni's voice came over the speaker after only three rings. "Hello?"

"She's in!"

"James, that's amazing!"

Tears brimmed Rogers' eyes. "Thank you so much, Roni. I…I can't thank you enough for this. You're the first teacher to actually see what I do."

"It's no problem, like I said, Tilly is a special girl."

"Still…I'd like to take you out for dinner. As a thank you. I can get my friend to babysit."

Roni paused. "So it'd just be us?"

Rogers cringed. Was he crossing a boundary? Roni wasn't going to be Tilly's teacher anymore, was there a problem with him taking her out? "I'm sorry, if you don't want to, I could bring Tilly along or you don't even have to, I just…"

"James."

He let out a shallow breath. "Yeah?"

"I'd love to have dinner with you. Pick me up at 8 on Saturday."

James grinned. "Sounds like a plan."


End file.
